Thirty Six Megawatts of Capacity Added to Iraqi Power Grid at Mullah

US Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division May 20, 2004 Thirty Six Megawatts (ISO) of capacity added to the Iraqi Power Grid at Mullah Baghdad, IRAQ -- Thirty six (36) megawatts of electricity, (30 MW derated) was added to the Iraqi power grid as Generator Unit Six at the Mullah Power Station was brought online May 16, 2004 in Mullah, Iraq, as announced by the Gulf Region Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Additional days testing and verification of the restored turbine have been completed to confirm the operation of the generator. The $15 million project, administered by Washington Group, International, and overseen by Corps personnel in support of the Program Management Office and Coalition Provisional Authority, began Feb. 1, 2004 and was not expected to be completed until this June. The early completion of the Unit Six portion of the project is a testament to the dedication of the Corps, contractor and local Iraqi team working in Mullah, said project manager Schappi Marsh of the Gulf Region Division Restore Iraqi Electricity Directorate. This latest addition is part of the effort to rehabilitate the existing gas turbine units and add additional turbines to provide new capacity at Mullah. Unit Six is the first portion of this project to be completed at this location. An additional 66 MW is expected by June 4. As part of a nationwide effort, in part, by the Restore Iraqi Electricity Directorate of the Gulf Region Division, Army engineers, Soldiers and Civilians are working non-stop with contractors and Iraqi workers on-site to restore the dilapidated power infrastructure and improve the quality of life for all of Iraq by increasing the available electricity. In conjunction with projects under the supervision of the Unites States Agency for International Development in support of the Ministry of Electricity, the Corps is continuing its efforts towards meeting its share of the 6000 MW goal for capacity by June 2004. Repairing damages from more than 30 years of neglect under Saddam Hussein, Corps teams are restoring transmission lines, improving or replacing switching facilities and building or restoring more than two dozen power generation projects to produce a capacity not seen in this country before. --30--